LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Live Nation is giving U2 more than 1,556,386 Shares in common stock, worth about $18.5 million as part of a touring rights agreement, SEC filings by the company revealed.
The shares are being given to five persons designated by the band's Evergreen Concepts LLC, the filing stated.
U2's deal commits the band to a twelve-year deal that includes touring, merch and the running the band's website. Unlike other "360" deals struck by Live Nation this year, the deal does not include provisions for publishing. U2's first studio album since 2004 is expected early next year after being pushed back from Q4 of 2008.
Its no secret that Live Nation and U2 had been planning a touring rights deal but little substantive information about the details of any such arrangement had been revealed.
U2 joins the ranks of other high-powered artists who've pacted with Live Nation this year, including Jay-Z, Madonna, & Nickelback. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
